High school students can more easily get ahead in their long-term academic plan all the while saving money on college costs now that South Dakota lawmakers are subsidizing dual credit courses offered at several state universities and technical schools.

This school year, junior and senior high school students across the state will have hundreds of online courses at their fingertips that also earn them college credits. In Dell Rapids, dual credit courses like college-bound English have been around for decades, but last winter the State Legislature allotted $300,000 for qualifying high school students to take entry level college courses for as little as $40 a credit hour.

That’s a big savings for students planning to continue their education after high school at one of the nine state-funded schools offering the courses, said Kim Kludt, Dell Rapids High School principal.

Kludt said the average three-credit college course at South Dakota State University costs about $417 plus fees. But when a student fulfills their college biology or humanities requirement through a dual credit course, they pay just $120, she said.

“It could save them thousands of dollars in college credits,” she said. “At SDSU, you pay $139 per credit and then you pay all the student fees and activity fees. The cost to benefit ratio is astronomical.”
With nine colleges and technical schools offering the dual credit courses, Kludt said students have hundreds of courses to choose from.

“It’s basically any introductory course you can think of,” she said. “It’s everything from music appreciation classes to biology and chemistry.”

The dual credit courses aren't available to all students, however. A senior must be in the top third of their class or be above the 70 percentile on the ACT or SAT exams. A junior is eligible for dual credit courses if they are in the top half of their class or are above the 50 percentile on the ACT or SAT exams.

An informational meeting about dual credit options is at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the DRHS gymnasium.